Monday, June 29, 2009

Weigh In--16 And Pregnant!

Have any of you seen or heard about MTV's new show "16 and Pregnant"? From MTV's website, the show is described as follows:

'MTV's 16 and Pregnant' is an hour-long documentary series focusing on the controversial subject of teen pregnancy. Each episode follows a 5-7 month period in the life of a teenager as she navigates the bumpy terrain of adolescence, growing pains, rebellion, and coming of age; all while dealing with being pregnant. Each story offers a unique look into the wide variety of challenges pregnant teens face: marriage, adoption, religion, gossip, finances, rumors among the community, graduating high school, getting (or losing) a job. Faced with incredibly adult decisions, these girls are forced to sacrifice their teenage years and their high school experiences. But there is an optimism among them; they have the dedication to make their lives work, and to do as they see fit to provide the best for their babies.

I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the show--is it a realistic look at teen pregnancy that you think will discourage teens from making choices that would lead to having babies? Or do you think it "glorifies" teen pregnancy, and would actually make teens more likely to have a baby?

I've been thinking about this a lot lately, because I've been pretty surprised to see how many young teen girls (ages 14-16) that I work with are actually trying to have a baby. It's not a matter of them accidentally becoming pregnant and then dealing with the aftermath, they're actually charting, and selecting men that they think would make "cute" fathers to have unprotected sex with.

10 comments:

When I saw the title I thought it was annoncement, lol. Haven't watched the show...don't think I will. I think that instead of following these girls around, MTV should be getting them support. Maybe they are, who knows.

Sadly I dont have MTV anymore so I havent seen it, but a friend of mine had told me about the show. It sounds dumb, but I've always wondered, where do they find these people? I mean, does MTV just have it on their site, if you are 16 and pregnant, contact us so we can do a documentary on you? Maybe some girls just do it to get their little 15 minutes of fame on MTV. Just a thought. Oh and I don't even wanna know about 14-16 yr old girls actually wanting to get pregnant! Thats crazy. They are obviously not thinking about the long term effects.

I have heard about it...but I just can't believe they are making a reality show out of this! It's crazy! I've also heard that young girls are trying to have babies-this just blows my mind and it's rediculous...I just can't say enough how stupid I think this is, but hopefully they will portray it in a light that will show what teen pregnancy is TRULY about!

I watched over the weekend, and I thought they didn't make it look easy or glorify it. Maybe it was the particular couple they followed, and maybe that's just how I saw it (there's no telling what the difference in opinion between a 16 year old and a 24 year old is).

The episode I watched, the couple really seemed to be trying to do the right things, and if they made a wrong choice, to try to fix it. Honestly, it made me sad to see this 16 year old girl trying to bring her and the father's family's together. The poor girl hosted (and cooked for!) both families when she was nearly due!

That said, it wasn't a sob story. MTV always seems to make things a tad lighter than they really are.

I've never seen the show. But, it sounds like glorification to me. I've been a teen mom. It isn't fun. It's hard. It's scary and it changes everything. I'm sad that our society has come to showing off teen mom's and making money off of their situations.

And those poor girls that you work with. I just can't imagine being a 14 year old and trying for a baby. A 14 is still a baby herself. :(

Teen pregnancy is something I've always been VERY passionate about, so you can imagine I'm pretty addicted to this show! I think it depends on the episode as to how I think it is portrayed. Some look easier than others. I do tend to find someone in each episode to make me very angry, whether it be the teen girl, the boy, mom, friends, etc.

I feel like the show COULD be educational if they showed pop-ups everytime the kid did something stupid. Like when the girl left the baby sitting on the dining room table- pop up: "never leave an infant unattended" OR when the girl is complaining about how expensive formula is- pop up: "Breastfeeding is free. Formula costs up to $30 a can" etc. Sheesh. It does show how much it changes their lives, but I wish they could find some more mature 16 year olds (although I realize that is a lot to ask! haha).

I've never seen the show, just the previews, but I don't think it's glorified. That being said, girls who are/want to be pregnant may not take it for what it's worth and may just sensationalize it anyways.